Transportation Plan Alternatives

Transportation systems are critical infrastructure for the City. They are keys to economic development and job growth as well as providing for safe and expedient movement. In recent years, financing these systems has become a challenge as the City's resources are limited and decisions must be made on how those funds are allocated.

A Transportation Preferences Survey was made available online and at various community locations from April 12 through April 27, 2011. The responses to the survey have been compiled into a report.

Listed below are three possible transportation plans that were evaluated by staff and presented for public comment. It is important to understand that the Federal Government requires that the Long Range Transportation Plan show projects that have a reasonable chance to be funded. We are allowed to also show additional projects that would be accomplished should additional funding be obtained. Projects shown as priorities for these plans were determined according to a prioritization process based on seven broad goals for transportation.

The two financially constrained plans, Capital Emphasis and Maintenance Emphasis, use the funding we are reasonably sure will be available over the next 30 years. These plans reflect two "book ends" of a range of possible final plans. The final financially constrained plan reflects a point along this range that shows an increased maintenance emphasis while still achieving capital goals.

The third is the Needs Based Plan which shows what our actual needs are in the year 2040, even though the cost of meeting those needs is beyond what we currently expect for funding. While we must develop a financially constrained plan, it is important to look into the future and plan what is actually needed as part of the Comprehensive Plan.

The three plans are presented below. Click on the buttons, then review the brief explanation. Some parts of the explanation are linked to other documents for further information.